I volunteer as tech support for a small organization. For years we relied on Ubuntu on our desktops, but the users didn't like it when Ubuntu switched to the Unity interface. This article tells about our search for a replacement and why we decided on Xfce running atop Linux Mint.

You would still be in the same situation with Linux if the kernel didn't have the network driver included.

Re-read the second paragraph in my post - I didn't claim otherwise.
IMO -no- OS is really joe-six-pack-ready, unless its comes pre-installed by the computer/laptop/etc manufacturer (and even this comes at the bitter price - AKA bloatware)

Unless you have bleeding edge hardware or very unusual NIC I suspect Windows 8 would work flawlessly.

This is true of Linux mostly these days as well. However it still much more difficult getting a driver working on Linux if it isn't included in the kernel or your NIC isn't supported compared to Windows (download the driver and put it on a usb stick and double click).

Most hardware today on most desktop PCs are pretty generic and if you are running any OS unless it is particularly niche (BeOS, Icaros and the ilk).